Domaine Gravallon-Lathuilière

Villié-Morgon, Beaujolais

Domaine Fernand Gravallon & Cédric Lathuilière.

Founded in 1822 with just a few plots of vines, some animals and some land, this domaine has continued to develop passing from father to daugther for the last 4 generations. Respecting the knowledge and skills of their ancestors passed on through the years and taking into account the 'terroir', the family make fruity, well balanced wines that reflect both tradition and modernity.

Method of cultivation.

The majority of the vines are planted on 20 to 40% slopes which makes mechanisation difficult. Therefore most of the work is done by hand (pruning, weeding, attaching etc.). The harvesting is also by hand with a very strict selection of only the best grapes. In terms of treatments the vines are worked by sustainable agriculture.

In their own words:

"For the last three years on our plots that are more easily accessed by tractor, we have not used any weed killers. Some vineyards are plowed, or we allow the grass to grow naturally between the rows."

Vinification and ageing of the wines.

The vinification is traditional, more commonly known as semi carbonic maceration, which lasts for 8 to 12 days depending on the appellation and the 'terroir'. It is only the ageing process that differentiates the different 'cuvées'. Each terroir is vinified in small to medium sized tanks.

Once the malolactic fermentation is finished the wines will develop one after the other for a period of 3 to 6 months in large oak casks (foudres). In spring, after a light filtering, the wines are bottled at the domaine.